Stories

The stories behind the shelf

Every finding we've pulled from the season, one shopper at a time. New ones land with each edition.

Two assistants, two different British fitness shelves

🇬🇧 Fitness & Outdoor · UK · September 2026

Two assistants, two different British fitness shelves

The same question, asked of ChatGPT and of Google AI Mode, comes back with a different brand at the top. Some names a...

Which aisle you ask about decides which high street you're sent to

🇺🇸 Overall · US · September 2026

Which aisle you ask about decides which high street you're sent to

Ask where to buy a kitchen gadget in America and AI names the big-box chains. Ask where to buy a moisturiser and it n...

Say who you are, or AI names brands it recommends to no one

🇺🇸 Supplements · US · September 2026

Say who you are, or AI names brands it recommends to no one

The gym starter and the healthy ager get two shelves with almost nothing in common. Ask without saying which you are ...

One aisle has a short list of real competitors. The other has a crowd

🇺🇸 Overall · US · September 2026

One aisle has a short list of real competitors. The other has a crowd

A handful of brands cover half the British kitchen shelf. It takes a long queue of them to cover half the American su...

One brand AI still recommends to everybody

🇺🇸 Pet Supplies · US · September 2026

One brand AI still recommends to everybody

Most brands are named to a single kind of shopper and no other. Pet food is the exception: ask about a puppy, an old ...

One brand clears every border

🌍 Overall · All markets · September 2026

One brand clears every border

Most brands are a local answer — strong in one market, thin in the next. On the fitness shelf one name sits near the ...

The toy shelf adults buy from has a different number one

🇺🇸 Toys · US · September 2026

The toy shelf adults buy from has a different number one

Ask for a child and the bricks and tiles come out. Ask as an adult buying for yourself and a blind-box brand takes th...

The skincare you're given isn't the skincare you're told to buy

🇺🇸 Skincare · US · September 2026

The skincare you're given isn't the skincare you're told to buy

Shop for yourself and AI reaches for the plain white tube. Shop for someone else and the top of the shelf goes to a b...

Three countries have a chemist. America has a scramble

🌍 Skincare · All markets · September 2026

Three countries have a chemist. America has a scramble

Ask for skincare in Britain, Canada or Australia and one chain answers, over and over. Ask in America and no shop com...

The shelf AI calls cheap and the shelf it calls dear are different brands

🇺🇸 Skincare · US · September 2026

The shelf AI calls cheap and the shelf it calls dear are different brands

AI puts a price label on what it recommends, in its own words. In skincare the brands it calls inexpensive are the on...

Grow your Brand’s Revenue in the AI Shopping Channel

See which shoppers already find you on the shelf, and where you are missing.